Snappier Judgement (TV series episode)
Snappier Judgement was the eighth episode of Season 10 of the CBS-TV series M*A*S*H, also the 227th overall series episode. Written by Paul Perlove, and directed by Hy Averback, it originally aired on December 14, 1981. Synopsis Klinger has his day in court, but no thanks to Winchester it may also be Klinger's swansong, but Hawkeye and B.J. have cooked up a plan of their own to catch the real thief. Full episode summary Everyone tries to help Klinger prepare for his court martial. Winchester takes up the cause - mostly as a personal challenge - and persuades Klinger to pick him as counsel. Winchester has Father Mulcahy and Margaret prepare written statements defending Klinger's character, but it doesn't go well; Margaret breaks down in hysterics over the very idea of Klinger as an upstanding, model citizen, and Father Mulcahy's story falls apart when it's revealed Klinger had procured stolen bibles for Mulcahy's Sunday services. Meanwhile, with the real thief still at large, Hawkeye and B.J. come up with their own plan to catch him: they go on and on, loudly, all over camp, about Winchester's super-expensive tape recorder, hoping to entice the real thief into trying to steal it, but to Hawkeye and B.J.'s frustration, three days have passed with nobody making an attempt. In the meantime, they have to travel with Winchester and Klinger to I-Corps for the court martial. When they arrive, the special court martial panel consists of five officers and is presided over by a Colonel Drake. Winchester immediately assumes the young prosecutor, Captain Rollins, will be a pushover, and their case is a shoo-in. But it quickly becomes clear that Rollins excels at his job, and any defense that Winchester can offer up is hopelessly inadequate, if not laughable. To make matters even worse for Klinger, Winchester proves to be woefully inept, and Rollins manages to extract damning testimony out of both Hawkeye and B.J. Back at the 4077th, just moments after Hawkeye and B.J. return and relay the bad news to Potter, another batch of wounded is announced over the PA system. During the OR session, an MP (one of the same ones who stopped and arrested Klinger with the camera) sneaks into the Swamp and snatches Winchester's tape recorder, then carries it behind one of the tents to hide it under a tarp marked 'Danger- Explosives'. Just as the MP pulls back the tarp (underneath which many other stolen items are hidden), a camera shutter is heard clicking; Hawkeye and B.J. were hiding nearby and finally caught the real thief red-handed. At the court martial, Colonel Drake is about to convict Klinger when Hawkeye and B.J. barge in with the real thief in handcuffs, and their photos of the thief in action. They show the pictures to Drake and reveal that when Captain Rollins pointed out that Klinger wasn't in the OR when the camera was stolen, they realized that all of the thefts took place while they were in surgery, and so they decided to stage a phony OR session using Winchester's tape recorder as bait, which netted the real culprit. Seeing the photos, Drake declares that Hawkeye and B.J. "have helped us avert a serious miscarriage of justice" and dismisses the case against Klinger. Back at the 4077th, Hawkeye and B.J. give Klinger the camera (since he paid out of his own pocket to get it back), and just as everyone poses for a camp picture another MP arrives investigating a case involving Mulcahy's stolen Bibles. Klinger ducks away and Mulcahy is flustered, so Winchester steps in, offering to be his lawyer, too. Trivia/Fun Facts * This was the final two-part episode of the series. * It turns out that one of the MPs who stopped and arrested Klinger was the actual thief, and presumably was the one who notified CID in an effort to throw them off of his own crooked trail. When Hawkeye and B.J. burst in to the court martial with the real thief in handcuffs, Klinger angrily glares at him when he recognizes him. Image Gallery MASH ep 10x9 - Snappier Judgement.gif ep. 10x9 - Klinger and the surgeons head for his court martial.png ep 10x9 - The Surgeons help Klinger's case.png ep. 10x9 - Charles's shoddy defense of Klinger.png ep 10x9 - The Crooked MP is caught.png Jack Blessing as Lt. Rollins.png ep. 10x9 - Mulcahy is questioned about stolen bibles.png Peter Hobbs as Colonel Walsh.png Guest stars *Peter Hobbs as Colonel Drake *Jack Blessing as Captain Rollins *Jim Boeke as M.P. *Monty Bane as Crooked M.P. Category:Season 10 episodes